Washing-machine mechanism



W. H. VOSS.

WASHING MACHINE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21. I917.

Patented July 19, 1921 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I w. H. voss. WASHING MACHINE MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21, 1917- I 1,384,876., Patented July 19 1921.,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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WILLIAM H. VOSS, 0F DAVENPORT, IOWA.

WASHING-MACEN E IBIIECHANISM.

Application filed July 21,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I WILLIAM H. Voss, a citizen of the United tates, and residing at Davenport, in the county of Scott and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in \VashingJi/Iachine Mechanism, of which this is a specification.

This invention relates to washing machines, and more particularly to gearing for operating the washing mechanism.

In many washing machines now in use the dasher is given, by means of a spiral rack and other forms of. mechanism, a twisting movement, which movement I have found after numerous trials and experiments is detrimental to the washing operation for the reason that it bunches and tangles the clothes to such an extent that it is almost impossible for the operator to remove them piece by piece from the washer, and this tangling prevents thorough cleansing of the clothes as they are not free to move about in the hot suds.

Among the objects of my invention is to produce a form of dasher operating mechanism which will not twist the clothes during operation, but will agitate them in such manner as to prevent them from forming into bunches and leave them free to move about in the hot suds; further to provide gearing whereby a purely reciprocatory motion will be imparted to the dasher; further to provide a straight rack secured to the dasher rod for reciprocating the same; further to provide a guard on said rack to prevent any possible injury therefrom to the operator; further in the positive prevention by such guard of any turning or twistlng movement in the dasher; and further in that combination, construction and arrangement of parts as are illustrated in the accompanying drawing and described in the fo1- lowing specification.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the following description proceeds.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse sectional View of a washing machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the gearing with one side cover of the combined guard and guide removed, the curved extension therefrom being shown in dotted line to indicate its position.

Fig. 3 is a detail in cross section taken on Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 19, 1921. 1917. Serial no. 181,935.

the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, but showing the side cover in position.

Fig. 4 is a detail section along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, 1 designates the tub mounted upon the legs 2, which are suitably spaced apart by means of the cross braces 3. Secured to the legs at a suitable distance above the cross braces 3 are the brackets 4, upon which are mounted the cross members 5 which form supports for the journal boxes 6 and 7 Mounted in the journal box 6 is the shaft 8, on which is fixedly mounted the gear 9, which meshes with the pinion 10 secured to the shaft 11, which is rotatably mounted in the journal box 7. Upon the opposite end of the shaft 11 and keyed thereto is the fly wheel 12, which. may also be used as a belt wheel if desired.

Pivotally secured to one of the arms of the gear 9 by means of the pin 13 is one end of the curved pitman 14, which is pivoted at its opposite end by means of the pin 15 to the lower end of the rocker arm 16, which rocker arm at a point slightly above its mid position is pivoted for rocking upon the bracket 17. Formed upon the upper end of the rocker arm is a socket 18, within which may be firmly mounted a suitable handle 19. Upon one side of the socket 18 is formed the spaced arms 20, (one of which is removed in this figure,) between which arms is secured the pin 21. Over the pin 21 the arms 22 of the pitman 23 are detachably engaged so that the pitman 23 may be readily disengaged therefrom by simply raising this end of the same if desired. The opposite end of the pitman 23 is pin connected to the crank arm 24 of the segment gear or fan gear 25, which is pivotally mounted on the pin 26 carried by the arm 27 of the bracket 28. The lower end of the bracket 28 is suitably let into the lid 29 as shown and secured thereto by means of screws, bolts, or the like. Upon the lower portion of the bracket 28 is formed the boss 30, and upon the upper end of the bracket 28 is the transversely extending collar 81, which collar and bossare in vertical alinement and are bored to receive the shaft 32.

Fixedly secured to the shaft 32 and straddling the collar 31 are collars 83 and 34, which are formed upon the ends of the rack 35, which rack carries the usual rack teeth 36 which are engaged by the teeth of the oppositeedge of the teeth 36, thus providing between these plates an elongated slot or space within which operates the segment gear 25. Upon the segment gear 25 is provided a spacer lug 39, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the function of which is to engage the inner face of the plate 38, which in conjunction with the engagement of the opposite edge of'the segment gear 25 with the inner face of the plate 37, prevents the rack 35 from having any twisting movement. The plate 38 upon one edge is extended into the curved plate 40, which partially surrounds in spaced relation the shaft 32. Upon the lower end of the shaft 32 is secured'the.

dasher 41, which has suitably located therein apertures 42, which apertures may, if desired, each be covered by-theflap valves 43.

In the operation of my improved'washing machine, it will be apparent that as the handle 19 is oscillated, motion will be transmitted through therocker arm 16 and pitman 14 to the gear 9, and from thence through the pinion 10 to the fly wheel or belt wheel 12, the function of which .fly wheel is to produce a more steady operation in the washing mechanism. Should it be desired, the mechanism may be operated by means of any suitable motor, which may be attached to the outer end'of the shaft 11, or it maybe operated by means of a belt running over the wheel 12. This movement will obviously oscillate the crank arm 24 and the fan gear 25, which in turn will produce through the medium of the rack bar 35 a vertical reciprocatory movement to the shaft 32, and in turn will cause the dasher 41 to reciprocate within the tub. This will cause an agitation of the clothes within the tub, and upon the downward motion of the dasher 41, the clothes will be pressed toward the bottom of the tub and any air contained therein will be forced out through the openings 42. As the dasher is raised, if the flap valves 43 are provided, these valves will be seated over the openings 42 and cause a vacuum to be produced beneath the dasher and thus suck the clothes upwardly. "This up and down motion will obviously result in the free agitation of the clothes in the suds, and since the dasher is entirely free from any rotary or twisting motion, the clothes will not become bunched together or twisted up during the washing operation,

which bunchmg and twisting has been a serious detriment in the washing machines heretofore known in which rotary or twisting motion is imparted to the dasher,

The shaft 32 will be prevented from twistfor and ing or rotating by virtue of the fact that the segment gear 25 operates between the plates 37 and 38, which form a guide therethus positively force the shaft 32 to have a purely reciprocatory motion entirely free from any twisting or rotation. Due tothe spacer lug 39 heretofore described, any slight twisting of the shaft'32 due to a looseness of fit between these parts will be prevented, for the reason that this lug closely engages'the inner face of the plate 38. This structure and'arrangement of the plates 37 and 38 also obviously provide an eflicient guard for the t'eeth of the rack and segment gear, and thus insure against injury therefrom to the operator of the machine; V

In the field of practice, certain changes in structure of my machine may be found de sirable, hence I desire it to be understood that while I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, the same is susceptible of change and modification without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. In apparatus of the class described, a support, a member hinged thereto, a bracket on said member, a shaft slidably mounted in said bracket, a straight rack on said shaft. a gear segment pivotally mounted on said hinged member engaging said rack, a pair of plates fixed to said rack for movement therewith, said plates extending on both sides of said'segment to form a combined guard for said gear and guide to prevent said shaft from rotating, and means for actuating said segment whereby a reciprocae tory'motion is imparted to said shaft.

2. In apparatus of the class described, a support, a member hinged thereto, a bracket on said member, a shaft slidably mounted in said bracket, a straight rack on said shaft, a rojecting plate on said rack in alinement with the edge of the rack teeth, a second plate in alinement with the opposite edge of said rack teeth, and a gear segment pivotally mounted on said hinged member and engaging said rack at a point between said plates, whereby said plates form a combined guide and guard for said rack.

3. In a. washing machine, a straight rack, an upstanding plate extending in alinement with one edge of said rack, and a second plate secured to said first plate and in alinement with the opposite edge of said rack, whereby to form a combined guide and guard for said rack.

4. In combination, a straight rack, plates upstanding from said rack in alinement with the opposite edges thereof, whereby a space is formed between said plates of a width substantially equal to the width-of said rack, a

gear segment between said plates engaging said rack, and means on said segment engagnesasre ing the inner faces of said plates, whereby when operated the movement of said rack will be confined to a straight line.

5. In apparatus of the class described, a support, a member hinged thereto, a shaft slidably mounted on said hinged member, a straight rack on said shaft, a gear segment for operating the said rack, a pair of projecting plates on said rack in alinement with the two edges of the teeth respectively, and means on said segment and removed from said rack to confine the movements of said segment to substantial parallelism with said plates.

6. In a washing machine, a support, a top member on said support, a reciprocating shaft mounted in said member andhaving a straight gear rack detachably secured thereto at its ends only, the intermediate portion thereof being offset from the shaft, a gear segment ivotally mounted on said member, said rac and said segment having intermeshing teeth, the teeth of one of these parts having a projecting plate in alinement with one edge thereof and a second plate in alinement with the opposite edge thereof, whereby said plates will project on each side of the teeth of said parts to form a combined guard and guide therefor.

In a washing machine, a support, a top member on said support, a bracket on said top member having spaced apertures in vertical alinement, a shaft slidably mounted in said apertures and having contact with said bracket only within said apertures, a straight rack secured to said shaft, an arm on said bracket, a gear segment pivotally mounted on said arm and en aging said rack, said rack having on each s1de of the teeth thereof upstanding elongated projections cooperating with the segment whereby to form a combined guide and guard for the intermeshing rack and segment to prevent things getting between same and to prevent rotary motion of the rack with relation to the segment.

8. In a Washing machine, a reciprocatory shaft, a straight rack on said shaft, secured thereto at its ends only and being otherwise offset therefrom to provide a space between the rack and shaft, a gear segment for operating said rack, a combined guide and guard fixed to said rack for movement therewith for preventing said shaft from twisting during operation and forming a guard for the rack teeth, and a supporting and guiding member for said shaft, surrounding same at spaced apart points, one of said points being between the ends of the rack secured to the shaft.

9. In a washing machine, a support having a top member, a shaft slidably mounted V in said top member, a head on said shaft, a straight rack on said shaft, a pair of plates on said rack projecting in substantially parallel direction in alinement with the two edges of the rack teeth, respectively, a gear segment operatively engaging said rack, and means on said segment and removed from said rack to confine the movements of said segment to substantial parallelism with said plates.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name to this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. VOSS.

MARY E. Bonnows. J 

